Bruce Lehrmann has avoided a conviction for taking a drunken joyride in someone else’s Toyota Prado after his car keys were taken from him.
But Lehrmann – who was previously threatened with arrest if he did not turn up – lost several bids to avoid media reporting on the matter, which was concluded in Hobart Magistrates Court on Thursday.
After failing to have his court attendance excused on mental health grounds, Lehrmann accepted a charge of taking and driving a car without consent and was handed a $100 fine to pay within 28 days.
Car theft charges against Bruce Lehrmann have been downgraded. (Dan Peled)
“I hope everyone gets out of bed tomorrow, gets the help they need and keeps fighting,” Lehrmann told reporters outside court after the hearing.
The disgraced political staffer and his lawyer, Zali Burrows, were ticked off by magistrate Robert Webster for failing to appear on the matter in November, with Lehrmann even threatened with arrest.
On Thursday, Burrows made representations that Lehrmann was unable to appear because of his mental health.
She asked whether Lehrmann could be sneaked in through a back door, or whether a blanket restraining order could be issued on journalists to prevent him from being confronted at court.
“We don’t do that for anybody,” Webster said.
Burrows forwarded the doctor’s certificates and told the court that Lehrmann had a mental health screening appointment at 2pm on Thursday, but Webster urged him to attend court.
Bruce Lehrmann arriving at Federal court for his defamation case against Lisa Wilkinson. August 20, 2025. Photo Edwina Pickles SMH (Edwina Pickles)
“There is nothing before me that excuses his attendance today. Nothing,” he said.
Before proceedings, Burrows asked waiting journalists for compassionate coverage, saying her client was “not in a good way”.
Thursday’s hearing was a Tasmania-specific hearing known as a contest mention, where both parties speak frankly about facts and arguments, allowing the court to find a pathway forward.
Prosecutor Bunewat Keo advised that a previous charge of car theft had been downgraded to driving a car without consent.
The court heard in November 2024, Lehrmann was partying at a house in Mountain River, outside Hobart, when his host took his car keys in an attempt to stop him from driving.
Lehrmann instead took a nearby car, with keys in the ignition, driving to Huonville Mood Food, where he bought a drink and filled the car up with fuel.
The car was returned undamaged, but the owners complained to the police.
Webster indicated he would offer Lehrmann, should he change his plea, avoidance of conviction on the condition of 12 months’ good behaviour.
The offer was extended, given Lehrmann’s lack of a criminal record.
Bruce Lehrmann has lost an appeal over findings that he probably raped his colleague. (Sam Mooy)
With the 30-year-old not in court, Burrows stepped out of court several times to discuss the matter with her client before accepting the punishment.
Lehrmann then arrived at court to sign his agreement, which left him only with a $100.22 fine to pay within 28 days.
On Wednesday, Lehrmann suffered a bruising loss in the Federal Court, where he had sought to restore his reputation.
He had sued Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson for defamation over an interview with Brittany Higgins on The Project in 2021, in which she claimed she had been raped.
Justice Michael Lee found in April 2024 that Lehrmann had, on the balance of probabilities, raped Higgins in Parliament House in 2019 after a night out.
Wednesday’s finding was upheld by the full court.
Lehrmann was directed to pay $2 million in damages after his initial defamation loss, and he must now also foot the bill for the legal costs of his opponents during his unsuccessful appeal.
Burrows said on Thursday that Network Ten and Wilkinson had agreed to stay costs pending the outcome of their application for special leave to contest the decision in the High Court.
Higgins expressed her relief at the decision in a statement on social media.
“I cannot begin to tell you how re-traumatising it is to have your rapist weaponise the legal system against you for daring to speak out,” she posted on Instagram.
Lehrmann has always denied that he sexually assaulted Higgins, and a criminal case against him in 2022 was abandoned without any findings.
